It would cross the river roughly where the Jubilee line currently does, offering an alternative, and encouraging Londoners to walk or cycle, rather than taking the tube.

The preferred option at the moment is a bridge, although a ferry and a tunnel are also being considered. The height of the bridge is a key consideration — the lower it is, the more often it will need to be closed to allow river traffic through.

The crossing would join up with existing and planned parts of London's cycle network, offering a safe route through Peckham, up to Rotherhithe, across to Canary Wharf and into Hackney.

It's part of TfL and the Mayor of London's plans to build several new river crossings in coming years. TfL now wants to hear from local communities, architects and other interested parties as part of an initial consultation. A more formal consultation regarding the design of the crossing will take place in 2018.

Leon Daniels, Managing Director of Surface Transport at TfL, said

Walking and cycling is key to creating a more liveable, healthy city. East London is seeing more growth than any other part of London and it’s absolutely right that we invest in new vital river crossings to support this going forward. This new crossing is envisioned to be a fantastic addition to London and provide a valuable and accessible link to new and proposed walking and cycling routes on both sides of the river.

The new crossing will offer pedestrians a more appealing alternative to the Greenwich Foot Tunnel and the dreaded Rotherhithe Tunnel:

Find out more about plans for the new Rotherhithe to Canary Wharf crossing here.